1. Field
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for configuring component carriers, in which preferred CCs including one or more CCs are determined.
2. Discussion of the Background
With the development of a communication system, service providers and consumers, such as individuals, want to use various wireless communication devices.
A Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) system, that is, the next-generation communication system which has been developed on the basis of 3GPP is a communication system for a high speed and a large capacity, which is capable of transmitting and receiving various data including images and radio data, including service based on voice. The next-generation communication system requires the development of technology capable of transmitting high-capacity data comparable to a wired communication network and also requires a proper error detection method capable of improving system performance by minimizing a reduction in information loss and improving system transmission efficiency.
Furthermore, in the next-generation communication system, such as the LTE and LTE-A, a Heterogeneous Network (hereinafter referred to as an ‘HetNet’) is taken into consideration as one of factor techniques for increasing transmission efficiency and expanding service coverage.
The HetNet means a communication system in which a second network node exists within the coverage area of a first network node in the same communication system. A communication system, including macro cells meaning common cells, microcells or pico cells, that is, cells smaller than the macro cells, hot spots or relay nodes, or femto cells, may be assumed as an example of the HetNet. Here, at least one femto cell may support a terminal under the control of a femto BS, and the femto BS may also be called a Home eNodeB.
In the HetNet environment, cells having a small coverage, such as microcells, pico cell, hot spots, or femto cells which exist within a macro cell, have limited transmit power.
More particularly, in a wireless communication system, if system frequency bands overlap with each other between network nodes, the network nodes may greatly experience Inter-Cell Interference (ICI). In particular, there is a possibility that the ICI ratio of a pico cell may be suddenly changed by various environment factors of a macro cell.
Accordingly, a wireless communication system requires efficient Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC).